Erase A Few Lines
by NajikaSun
Summary: Layton x Emmy one-shot.  No spoilers.  Emmy has had a hard time in the last few days, can the professor help her out with it?


**Erase a Few Lines**

11/20/10

Professor Layton was having a rather ordinary day at Gressenheller University, his teaching day was through, but his work was far from done. The many, many papers from his surprisingly eager students needed to be graded, and he did not wish for anyone else to grade them for him. Some days, he would spend nearly the whole night doing this routine; a few times, falling asleep at his desk. But today, there was no stress. He was relaxed, grading the papers without really a care, even writing small notes to the students on some of the papers. He smiled.

Suddenly, there was a small knock at his door. The Professor glanced at the clock, and thought it to be a bit odd for anybody to still be here at this hour. It was nearly six-thirty, all of the students should have left by now for their supper. He got up after this hesitation, and opened the door.

It was none other than one of his co-workers, Emmy Altava.

Layton smiled. Emmy smiled back. But it was different than her usual bubbly smile, this one did not fill the professor with the same happiness that it always would. It was a sticky-sweet smile, a fake smile. Something was wrong. He just knew it. He slowly put a hand on her shoulder and said her name. That was the only thing needed for Emmy to get his point.

Emmy shook her head, and smiled back up at Layton. She didn't utter a single word. Layton wasn't sure why she remained so silent, but he eventually ushered her over to his desk for tea. He always had a kettle and tea ready for visitors and, in most cases, himself. He gave her a steaming cup, and sat down behind his desk. He took a small sip of his own tea, and spoke softly, "There must be a reason you came to see me, otherwise, you would most likely be home right now."

"I…" That was all she said. She looked down slightly, a look in her eyes he had never seen before. Her eyes were shining slightly, and she pointed to something on his desk. A paper and a pencil. He slid them over to her curiously, as she began to write. She eventually finished, and slid the note back to the professor.

_"Hershel-_

_Sorry for not talking to you. I haven't been in the best of moods lately…a few days back, I lost one of my close friends in a car accident. She was driving with her boyfriend who had gotten drunk earlier, and he swerved off the road and the car flipped many times, killing both of them._

_Please don't think I'm blowing you off. I just need some time to think things out._

_-Emmy Altava"_

The Professor read the note a few times, only really getting it the third or fourth time he read it. He looked up at Emmy, who was looking into her teacup with half closed eyes. It may have been just the steam in the air, but she appeared to have…tears in her eyes? That could not have been right, the Emmy he knew wouldn't do that, especially not in front of someone she knew as well as him. Layton put down his teacup, paused, and wrote down something on the paper as well. His all-too-common phrase.

_"Your predicament…reminds me of a puzzle I've been meaning to ask you for quite a while now. It is as follows:_

_ALONE_

_This word can be changed into a word meaning the complete opposite with only the work of an eraser. No creation must be made to change this word. By taking away the loneliness of this word, a new one can be created out of something that one may have thought to be nonexistent in this situation. Create this word."_

Emmy read the first sentence and shot a death glare at the professor. He knew she would do this, but he insisted that she read on.

"This one is different than the others. I promise."

Emmy sighed, and read on half-heartedly. She read the word aloud, and read and reread the puzzle many times. She was holding her pencil eraser-side down, staring at the word 'ALONE.' She mouthed out 'ALONE' many times, and seemed intent on solving the puzzle. She wrote and rewrote 'ALONE' all over the paper, but never succeeded in finding the correct answer. She eventually sighed and slammed the pencil down, a sign that she had given up. She crossed her arms and glared at the professor once more. He chuckled.

"I'm glad you couldn't solve it."

"What!"

"This puzzle was meant for me to answer it for you."

The professor walked around his desk and sat next to Emmy, a fresh sheet of paper in his hand. He placed the paper down on the desk, and wrote 'ALONE' down once more. He pointed to it.

"This is how you must feel right now after losing your friend. I am truly sorry about the incident. But, I have something that I think may help a bit with this."

Emmy sighed, then looked up at the professor, cocking her head. Layton motioned back down at the paper, then he took the pencil and held the eraser close to the paper.

"This is how I can make you feel better."

The professor slowly erased the letter '_A_' out of the word. He paused, and looked up at Emmy, wondering if she understood yet. She was still contently staring at the paper. He looked back down, and read out loud the poem he wrote down.

"This word can be changed into a word meaning the complete opposite with only the work of an eraser. No creation must be made to change this word. By taking away the loneliness of this word, a new one can be created out of something that one may have thought to be nonexistent in this situation. Create this word."

The professor erased the left-most line in the letter '_N_' to create a new letter, '_V_.'

The word on the paper now read, "_LOVE_."

Emmy's eyes widened and her cheeks turned a faint pink. She looked up at the professor, eyes shining like never before, and spoke the word. Layton smiled at her, his face pink as well, and he slowly leaned a bit closer to her.

He spoke the word. He leaned in further. And he kissed her.

On the back of the paper, there was a message that Emmy hadn't read.

_"It can break apart ALONE_

_Erase just a few lines, create LOVE."_


End file.
